Tag Archives: social media

Post navigation

In 2006, I received a request that angered and horrified me. Law enforcement often call with requests to review computer evidence, sometimes, they request assistance in collecting the computer evidence. A state law enforcement agency requested assistance with collection of computer evidence from an active crime scene. I traveled to the site.

I was unaware of the nature of the crime, until my arrival. A child, not quite a teenager, committed suicide. Near the child, a laptop glowed eerily. Law enforcement did not want to interact with the laptop due to its changing contents, for fear of damaging possible evidence.

The laptop displayed active contents from a discussion board. I discovered that the child visited the discussion board seeking help. The digital hangout was popular among teenagers. The presence, while not designed with ill intentions, became a conduit for bullying. Young people visited the site, degraded one another, spoke poorly about themselves and others. The power of perceived anonymity was powerful: remain hidden behind a computer and lash out, act in a fashion that most would never contemplate in the physical world.

Statistically, most cyber security issues originate from end-user activity. In fact, nearly seventy-five percent of all reviewed security breaches began as the result of end-user action.

The statistics do not surprise most security practitioners. After all, currently, end-users are the dominant consumer of electronic resources – people deploy, configure and use the devices. The machines aren’t running everything, yet.

We end-users make mistakes. Those statistics include IT professionals and everyday users. Often IT professionals lack adequate skills and training. Perhaps they exhibited some talent or aptitude and became the “go-to computer person”. Clever use of modern technology is no substitute for proper training. Nearly one-third of all security breaches were the result of poor IT configuration and management, according to an annual IBM cyber security study. Have confidence in your IT resources. If a search engine is your technician’s preferred tool, perhaps looking elsewhere is appropriate.

Between three and five juveniles confronted the suspect in a wooded area as a result of a dispute police believe started on Facebook, according to the Taunton Gazette. They allegedly made comments that frightened the 13-year-old.

Police say the suspect then went to his home, unlocked a gun safe and retrieved a rifle. He returned to the scene where he shot the 12-year-old.

A social media firestorm involving a River Region credit union is burning after an alleged breach of customer privacy by a credit union employee. Max Credit Union customers are demanding answers after they claim an employee shared a customer’s personal information on Facebook.

The Senior VP of Marketing at Max Credit Union confirmed the credit union was alerted to the alleged incident last Thursday and that there is an investigation underway led by “legal authorities”. The Max employee has been placed on leave.

Fran Walfish, PsyD, a Los Angles based child psychologist and author of The Self-Aware Parent, says parents should be wary of using age as a way to measure whether their kid is ready for a social media account. “First, the child needs to demonstrate that they’re responsible by respecting curfews, following bedtimes, and family rules and values,” Walfish tells Yahoo Parenting. “One son may be ready at 12-years-old, but his brother might not be ready till he’s 16. Independence needs to be earned, not given.”